Chapter 199: Appereance of Big Shots [1]
Taking a closer look, Yu Xuan saw her.
A woman, if she could even be called that — stepped out of the black gates with the unhurried grace of someone who had never once feared the world.
She was nearly six feet, her figure draped in a flowing black dress that shimmered faintly.
Her hair was the same abyssal black, cascading down her back like a waterfall of shadows. Even her nails gleamed obsidian, sharp and polished to a lethal perfection.
The contrast of her blood-red eyes against her pale, doll-like face was so striking it seemed unreal. And her lips, painted the crimson color, curved faintly upward, as if amused by some joke.
Yu Xuan’s brow twitched.
"A Witch, no... a semi-goth cultivator?" The stray thought popped into his head before he could stop it. He immediately regretted it, but it was too late, now he couldn’t unsee it.
Yet, beneath his humor, unease gnawed at him. She didn’t radiate oppressive aura. No killing intent pressed down on him. Nothing.
And that was far, far more concerning.
This woman, who walked like a queen among ruins, was the one the dragon knelt to. The superior. And probably the final boss of the trial.
"Oh? And what do we have here?" Her voice was smooth, melodic, laced with mockery.
Before Yu Xuan could even register movement, she was standing in front of him. No footsteps. No wind displacement. It was as though space itself had bent to place her there.
"What a cute little boy," she said, tilting his chin upward with one finger.
Yu Xuan froze, not out of fear, but because his body refused to obey him. Even with [Immortal’s Gaze], he had only sensed the faintest ripple in the air, a subtle distortion of space. It wasn’t speed. It wasn’t teleportation.
It was as if the distance between them had simply ceased to exist.
His muscles locked. His Qi didn’t respond. Lingluo, too, stood rigid, unable to move.
But Yu Xuan didn’t falter. He met her crimson eyes head-on, unblinking.
"Oh my~ such a fierce gaze," she said, her lips curving into a smile. "I’d like to eat you right now... haha~"
Her eyes lowered, lingering on the blood soaking his thigh. With deliberate slowness, she dragged her finger across the wound, staining it crimson. Then, without breaking eye contact, she lifted the finger to her lips and licked it clean.
"Mmm," she hummed, lips curling as the taste lingered on her tongue.
Then she froze.
Her pupils dilated. A faint tremor coursed through her body. Her porcelain-like face flushed crimson, breath quickening as though she had just tasted something intoxicating. The regal composure she carried cracked for the first time.
Yu Xuan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what she had sensed from his blood, but whatever it was, it shook her.
From the sidelines, Lingluo seethed. Her violet eyes burned with irritation. What is this supposed to be? We’re supposed to be fighting. Why is she acting like that—like Yu Xuan is the only one that exists here?
Even worse, the woman hadn’t spared Lingluo a single glance.
She wanted to scream, I’m here too, you know and I’m older than him! But her body remained locked under the invisible bind.
The dragon behind them stirred uneasily. Its crimson gaze flickered to its mistress, confusion in its slitted pupils. But it stayed silent, watching, waiting, as though it knew, it was better to be silent than to speak.
Yu Xuan could hear her breathing, ragged, heated, uncontrolled. Then, as though a switch flipped, the woman straightened her back and smoothed her dress with elegance, her face regaining its flawless composure.
"Little brother," she said suddenly, her voice honeyed and sweet, "what is your name?"
Her tone was a complete inversion, warm, almost affectionate.
That was when Lingluo snapped.
Her eyes blazed purple, irises drowned by Chaos Qi that leaked in waves from her body. The ground cracked, the air shook. Dozens of violet lotuses bloomed into existence, scattering across the battlefield like divine omens, before dissolving into a rolling purple mist that surged toward the woman with devouring intent.
The woman’s eyes widened briefly. Chaos Qi? At this density...
But then she merely raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
The mist vanished. Erased. As though it had never existed.
Her gaze shifted to Lingluo, no longer playful, serious, calculating.
’So that’s why...’ she thought.
’Even with my pet’s strength sealed, these two managed to wound him. It wasn’t coincidence.’
She flicked her wrist.
Lingluo’s body stiffened mid-step, her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled unconscious to the ground.
"Don’t worry, little brother," the woman said gently, her gaze returning to Yu Xuan.
"I didn’t harm her. She’ll wake up in time. Now..." Her smile sharpened, curving into something wicked. "...why don’t we have a little talk?"
The invisible weight lifted from Yu Xuan, his tongue finally free to move.
He exhaled slowly, his expression calm.
"What do you want?"
The woman tilted her head, studying him like a jewel under a lamp.
"Oh, so composed. Not even flinching when you know a single wrong word could decide your death. How fascinating..."
Her lips curved, and her eyes ignited with a deep blood-red glow, drilling into his own golden pupils. Her voice dripped with venomous curiosity as she leaned closer.
"For starters, why don’t you tell me all your secrets?"
Yu Xuan felt it immediately, a foreign will prying into his mind, a power that wasn’t forceful like a hammer but invasive like a thousand needles slipping through the cracks of his consciousness.
The woman’s expression shifted, the corner of her lips curling into something odd, almost delighted.
"Oh-ho... resisting?" she whispered, her blood-red eyes narrowing.
"How long, I wonder, can you endure?"
Her gaze deepened, the crimson glow intensifying until it bled into the air itself. Yu Xuan’s skull rang, the world tilting, but he didn’t break. Instead, he summoned his will and his gaze blazed.
[Immortal’s Gaze] — Annihilation.
Twin beams of golden red light erupted from his eyes, piercing into hers with absolute killing intent.
The woman’s body jolted. She closed her eyes briefly against the impact, lashes fluttering. And then... she laughed. Not with pain, but with an unnatural, delighted smile.
"How fierce," she purred. "Now... now I truly want to know everything about you."
Her hand snapped forward, pale fingers closing around Yu Xuan’s throat. Effortlessly, she lifted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing.
His body strained, his Qi surged, but this time her power was overwhelming. Her spiritual will descended fully, pressing against him like an ocean crashing down on a lone rock. Even with his trait [Mental Resistance], his defenses splintered under the crushing tide.
A searing force pierced into his mind. His vision started blurring.
Then the woman’s smile faltered. Her pupils shook violently, and a sudden shiver ran down her spine.
Blood welled from the corners of her eyes.
Her breath hitched, her composure slipping.
"Wha—?"
It was as if something inside Yu Xuan’s soul had bitten back.
She staggered, and without warning dropped him to the ground. Her eyes fluttered closed as she recalculated, quick as a predator reconsidering a suddenly dangerous quarry.
’Uh?! What the—! I need to hurry now.’
Yu Xuan lay on the scorched earth, chest heaving, staring up at her. He couldn’t tell if his dizziness came from the struggle for his mind.
"Tsk," she snapped at last, regaining her composure. Her smile was sharp and cold.
"Little brother, consider yourself lucky. But don’t be comfortable, you can run, and I will find you even in hell, now."
With a slow, deliberate motion she hooked a long black nail into her palm and sliced. Blood welled and streamed, but instead of letting it fall, she gathered it with a gesture. A pool of crimson rose into the air above her hand, suspended and churning as if it had a will of its own.
Yu Xuan watched, unsettled. There was nothing he could do here.
Her eyes, suddenly obsessive and bright, locked onto him. A violent hunger flared there, and she had to calm down. She forced her expression back into a mask of control.
She then whispered in an unknown language.
"Ancestor... this descendant is in peril. Come to me — save me."
At her command, the five blood pillars at the pentagram’s corners flared simultaneously. Red light burst into the sky, converging on the floating pool of blood above her hand. The crimson torrents braided together, spun, and then burst into the air like a living comet.
The suspended blood swelled, brightened, and then split, opening like a wound in the sky. A portal formed inside that wound: edges rimmed in light, and a depth darker than night itself visible within.
Yu Xuan watched the portal with equal parts: unease and curiosity.
The woman had called for her "Ancestor". And she had just announced, that it was coming here.
Yu Xuan just looked at the unconscious Lingluo, who was missing this show.